1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to digital display devices and related data manipulation systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a large-size display device and method for manipulation of low-resolution images of digital documents, files, or windows.
2. Related Art
The typical office includes a desk and additional level workspace. This office structure permits a person to work with multiple paper information sources on multiple tasks. When a document is needed for a particular task, the person identifies the document based on its appearance and spatial location on the desk, and moves it to the center of attention (in front of the person) from some area spatially distributed in a peripheral region. The paper data source is sent back to the peripheral regions when the source is not needed but may be needed in the near future. The various sources of documents can be stored temporarily and in spatially relevant groupings. The physical presence of the document reminds a person of the document, its content, and the need for the document.
The universality of this office structure across company, country, history, and culture suggests that this is a natural and effective way to organize work. However, such an arrangement only works only for paper data sources, not electronic data sources. For manipulation of electronic data sources, office computer users typically work on one small high-resolution display device (i.e. computer monitor) in order to accomplish multiple tasks using the computer. Multiple windows, jobs and data sources are open simultaneously, and therefore are layered on top of each other. An elaborate system of icons and layering schemes are used to facilitate switching back and forth between sources. Unfortunately, there is not enough space on a small icon to display visually the content of a document for identification (i.e. all icons of a given type look nearly identical) or to arrange inactive data sources in spatially significant configurations (akin to the arrangement of physical documents on a desktop) while retaining enough space for other activities. A job set aside remains at the bottom of the pile or invisible in a folder/file system, even if there is an urgent time deadline associated with it. Important documents become invisible in most file systems and the important sources look the same as unimportant files.